Shadow
by TheLocoPony
Summary: Shadow is a new villain rising. With the power to control darkness he set for world domination. Except he is shortly defeated by the Elements of Harmony and purged of his hatred and memory. He wakes up in a cave outside of Ponyville with no knowledge as to who he is and how he got there
1. Rise and fall of Shadow

Body wrapped in shadows I storm through Fillydelphia.

One pony, braver than the rest, rushes me. I stare coldly at him before forming a blunt end to the shadows and throwing him to one side where he crashes through the side of a house. I snort and turn away. They all shrink back in terror, cowards. I sneer and whip the shadow around in the air before bringing it crashing down on the statue of the mayor. The stone crumbles under the oppressing weight and shards of stone splinter outward causing the others to duck out of the way. Fashioning a spike out of another shadow I send it hurtling towards the nearby shop where it smashes through the window and causes a pony to run shrieking out of the door. I twist the shadow upwards and bring it crashing up through the roof and back down leaving it a broken mess. I need everyone to hear what I have to say. I turn to them, all of them on the floor, begging, pleading.

I despise cowards.

"Listen now and listen well. I am now your lord. You will be my slaves. There are no exceptions. Do this or I will crush you. Do you understand?" At this I allowed the shadows covering my body to grow threatening spikes. I always covered my body in shadows. It's hard to be feared when you're an earth pony who is a dull grey with a white mane and silver eyes. You look far too innocent, which is perfect for undercover. This is a conquest however and so I stay hidden.

"Does anypony have a problem with that?" I growl threateningly. If any rebel now this is the perfect chance for a public performance. So far there was a small group in Manehatten who tried to stop me. They're still in hospital, no point in wasting good workers.

"We do!" A small voice rang out across the crowd. I gave a satisfied grunt. Excellent, some more with a back bone. And a girl no less! She will make an excellent worker, once I've crushed this attitude.

"Very well, please come forward; let's see how long you last." A great shadow loomed up behind me hanging threateningly over the crowd. Six ponies come up each very different to the other. There is a lavender unicorn at the front and fanning out to either side are an orange earth pony, yellow pegasus, another white unicorn, a pink earth pony and a blue pegasus. Each of them had a strange amulet around their neck except for the purple one who had a strange crown…thingy on her head.

"Shadow, your reign of terror is at an end. We're here to stop you." The shadow wavered, how did they know my name? No matter, they will soon fall to my overpowering darkness. I raised up waves of shadow and sent them sweeping across the ground where they erupted into sharp points forcing them to jump out of the way in separate directions. A purple blast of magic came out from the left, exploding against my armour. I stamped my hoof and a pillar of shadow burst from the ground ripping through the fake image of the purple unicorn. As I turned around to look for where she is I felt a mighty kick from behind which sent me tumbling forwards. I saw a flash of orange running away before I saw a large cannon being placed in front of me. I ducked just in the nick of time as confetti and streamers exploded outwards where my face used to be. This was just pathetic, what was wrong with me? And where did these strange ponies come from. Just as I was thinking this something shot past leaving a rainbow of colours behind. I felt a breeze behind me and as I turned I was hit by a rainbow uppercut and I was sent flying, I felt the shadows weaken exposing one eye. I landed with a crash in a large pile of cloth which turned blue with magic and wrapped around me. I pushed and used shadows to cut myself a way out before peering through a hole with one eye exposed straight into the eyes of another pony. Those eyes…I can't…move.

They dominated my universe, I felt small and insignificant. They froze me in my place. An hour passed, or was it minutes?

She turned away and I could breathe again. What was that, I had no control over myself? I was completely helpless. Enough is enough. Surrounding my body in twisting shadows I tore through the fabric and stood on the grass. I repaired the shadow over my eye and looked by though the shadow to see them all gathered together. Snarling I poured shadows down my hoofs creating claws of wicked sharpness. I snorted and jumped at them, they would suffer my wrath!

A blast of light sent me hurtling backwards. I looked up from the dirt to see them floating in the air eyes glowing with power and a rainbow swirl around them. What was going on, what where was all this power coming from. A great rush of power and the rainbow shot into the air before coming down at me. I raised a powerful shield of darkness but it cracked and broke under the sheer strength of the rainbow. It swooped down and picked me up in a whirlwind of light. I snarled and swiped this way and that but there was no stopping it. The darkness began to leak from my body and I squirmed as pleasant warmth spread through my conscience. My vision shattered and split in two as I felt myself being pulled away. I gave a cry and pulled myself away, only a thin layer of shadows protecting my identity. I formed two spikey wings of darkness before carrying myself labouredly away.

Gasping for breath I crashed through trees and hit the ground landing in a small puddle of mud. I pulled myself out and shook as I walked away. My vision began fizzle and I dragged myself under an overhang and into the cave before collapsing into a heap on the floor. My hoof felt broken and I whipped the sharpened shadows around the cave cutting into the stone in rage. I was falling away, whatever their strange power had done it was washing away all my hate and anger.

I smiled bitterly. I had lost.

Another splinter appeared in my vision and all I could hear was a faint whining sound as I collapsed into the rubble.

Dammit…


	2. Where am I?

My head hurts.

Something is sticking into my back and I roll to one side. I open one sticky eye to see the mouth of a cave. I groan as a sharp ray of light stabs into my vision through a crack in the roof. There was a strange whining noise and I put my right hoof to my head and try to rub that infernal noise away. I opened my other eye to see the ground on the left and a cave dominates my view above me. I struggled up to my feet and looked around. There was a small opening in one corner and a single crack in the ceiling which light was pouring through. There were large cuts in the stone surrounding me, I look inside but I see no method of the cutting tool. There too straight and many to be natural but what could have made them? I wince as I step on my right hoof, feeling it ebb with pain. I hear a faint noise outside and my ears flicker in response. There is a rustling of noise in the trees and bushes outside the cave.

A faint cheerful whistling can be heard just beyond the entrance. I slowly hobble over to the entrance careful to use my right hoof as little as possible. I peek out from the entrance to see a yellow pegasus picking flowers in the meadow. A small white bunny hops alongside her, occasionally eating some of the flowers she put in the basket on her back. She whistles a short tune before picking up a flower. As she picks it up the birds in the trees carry the tune on so no moment is silent. Her basket is nearly full and I realise I have no idea where I was. I decide this is the best time to try and find out.

I slowly manoeuvre my way out of the low entrance to the cave. I walk up slowly and tap her gently on the shoulder. She lets out a shriek and disappears before my very eyes leaving me standing there hoof outstretched. I look around until I see two eyes peering out at me from the top of a tree.

"Oh…um…sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." I call up to the tree. She floats out of the tree on spread wings and lands gracefully before coming closer to me.

"No, no. I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting anyone else out here so I'm a little on edge." She spoke shyly; face half covered by a pink mane. She looked up at me and turned thoughtful as she looked into my eyes. I could only stare back into her big blue eyes before she turned around mumbling

"…looks so familiar, have I seen those silver eyes before? Where?" She turned back to me "Have we met before?"

I think and I realise something.

I have no memory of before today.

"No, I don't think so…"

"Oh, ok. Do you need anything?" She seemed a lot calmer now and bent down to start picking up the flowers she dropped.

"Umm… I seem to be lost; I'm not sure where I am." Or who I am for that matter but that can wait for later. I stop down and pick up a few and drop them into the basket on her back. She sees my face screw up as I reach down and worry crosses her face

"Are you alright? There seems to be something wrong with your leg" At this she gets down and peered at my leg and gave it a poke which caused me to hiss in pain.

"You seem to have a broken bone. I think I have a splint back at my house. It's not too far from here" At this she grabbed my hoof and practically dragged me off, leaving behind all of the flowers she had spent so long to pick. We shortly arrived at her house which was at the edge of the Everfree Forest.

Standing in front of us was a nice cottage which looked to be made directly out of a tree. There was a small stream in front of it with a bridge crossing it and some otters swimming happily about. There was chirping in the trees and the rustle of small animals running about in the grass. As we entered her house little creatures ran across the floor and out of sight. The same bunny that was with us earlier ran in and stood with his arms crossed tapping his foot. She gets whatever message he was trying to send and reaches behind her and pulls out a small bundle of flowers which he grabs greedily and scoffs down in one shot.

"I'll just go get your splint; it's in the medical cabinet in the kitchen." She walks into the kitchen leaving me with the bunny staring angrily at me.

"Um…hi?" He gave a huff and stormed out leaving me extremely confused. After a few minutes she walked back in carrying a small pack with a red cross on it. She pulled out the necessary equipment and began tying it to my leg. I heard a great cheer from far away.

"What was that…ow!" I winced as I felt the strap tighten around my leg.

"Sorry. There's a party going on in Ponyville" That must be the nearby settlement "They've been celebrating all week thanks to Pinkie Pie."

"Celebrating what?" I asked

"Oh…um well there was this bad man going around calling himself Shadow, he imprisoned ponies and hurt people. Last week my friends stopped him. And I guess I…helped. He hasn't been seen since and we're celebrating the Elements of Harmony" I stared.

He sounded like a terrible person.

"Why aren't you down there if you helped stop him?" She shivered at the thought

"It's too loud, and busy. And Pinkie recently found out about fireworks" At this she whimpered slightly. She gasped as a sudden thought hit her "Oh, I'm sorry to be so rude. I haven't even introduces myself yet. I am Fluttershy; I take care of the animals in Ponyville and also the Element of Kindness. Um...if you don't mind. What is your name?"

I stared blankly at her, nothing had come to me. I still didn't know who I was or what had happened before today. I looked away in shame

"I'm sorry. I don't remember who I am. I can't remember anything before today." She stared at me in amazement

"Really! Oh you must feel so lost. I know! Twilight must still know that memory spell from before. Come on, I'll take you into town to see her.

"But what about the party and the…fireworks" She swallowed and faced me directly

"I could never let anypony suffer, I'll do all I can to help you. Even if it is one of Pinkie Pies ultra-mega-stop-the-bad-guy-party." With that she walked over to the door and pushed it open, lending me her shoulder so I could hobble along.


	3. Who am I?

I gasped as there was an explosion to the left and a crackle of sparks shot outwards, singing the pony that was sitting there on the now exploded chair. There was a chuckling from above and I looked up to see a cloud moving away with a rainbow hair blowing out behind it. I turned around to see Fluttershy hiding under another chair. I saw a heard a faint hiss and pulled her away before it too blew up. This was dangerous.

We stuck close together as ponies partied left, right and centre. A pink blur shot past before bouncing back towards us. She was a pink earth pony with a bouncy pink mane and seemed to never run out of breath

"Fluttershy! I thought you weren't coming, because of all the explosions but this is great. And you bought along a friend! Hello again! I didn't get your name last time, you know with what was going on but you came to the party too. Maybe you're not too bad. Anyway this is so great and everyone is having so much fun…" She went on and on and I lost track of what she was saying. Wait a second; did she say she knows me?

"Wait a second. Did you say you know me?" She looked at me up and down before beaming brightly.

"Of course silly, I never forget anyone! And Fluttershy and Twilight and Applejack and Rainbow Dash and Rarity were there too. Wait, are you playing the secret game where you pretend to not know anypony. Sorry, I'll stay quiet about it!" She gave me a large wink. "So what are you two doing first? We have a place for apple bobbing, or you can try the punch. It's really good! And not to mention the…"

Fluttershy kept trying to interrupt but she continued on regardless. A while later she finished describing the last activity she had planned before turning to Fluttershy.

"So what do you want to do?" There wasn't any sign she was out of breath. How does she do that?

"We were just looking for Twilight. You see my friend here has lost his memory and we were hoping she could cast the memory spell…"

"Say no more!" She interrupted, dramatically holding one hoof to her heart. "I Pinkamena Diane Pie will not rest until our new friends memory is back to what it was! We are friends, right?" She gave me another wink.

I shrugged "Sure, of course."

She bounced up in excitement "Yay, a new friend for Pinkie Pie. Come on, I last saw Twilight near the piñata. We should probably get there before it explodes." With that she hopped away. Fluttershy and I looked worriedly at each other before running off after her.

After around 5 minutes of dodging random party activities we arrived to see a blackened unicorn staring surprisingly at an empty husk on the floor. Pinkie looked embarrassed

"Whoops, guess we were too late." She gave a little giggle before walking up to her and helping her to her hoofs. "Are you alright Twilight"

The purple unicorn looked around surprised. "What happened, I was hitting the piñata and then there was an explosion." She looked at the burned body of the piñata before mumbling something. She shook her head and looked at me. "Hello, I don't think we've met have we? I am Twilight Sparkle, number one student of Princess Celestia and Ponyville's librarian. Who are you?" Fluttershy shook her head.

"Oh no, that's the problem you see. He can't remember anything, he's lost his memory. I was hoping you could use the memory spell, you know, from that time with Discord." She seemed to shrink at these words and almost huddled down. Twilight nodded

"Sure, but I have to do a quick test first." With that her horn started glowing enveloping me in a purple aura. A few seconds later it faded and she shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry. Your memories were taken away magically, by something really powerful. I might be able to work out a counter for it but it will take time."

"That's okay. How long?"

She looked sheepish "About a month or so"

"Ah, I um…see." I stumble over the words. A month of not knowing who I was, all I knew was this was Ponyville and these three girls

"If you want you can stay with me for a while, I have a spare bed." Fluttershy looked embarrassed. I looked at her

"But I didn't see one when I was at your house." I looked at her inquisitively.

She shied away "Oh um…I guess I'll sleep on the sofa then."

I shook my head "No I couldn't do that to you. I'll go back to that cave I woke up in, it's not too bad." At this Twilight looked horrified.

"What! You can't stay out there in the cold by yourself. Why don't you stay at the library with me? It will be like an extended sleepover. Although I'm not sure if you'll want to do makeovers…" I grimaced at the thought. I still have the spare bed from when Applejack and Rarity stayed over so you're free to use it."

I nodded "Thanks that would be much appreciated." Then Twilight turned to Pinkie

"Don't you want to throw your welcome party, we haven't met him before"

At this Pinkie just giggled "Oh Twilight don't tell me you've forgotten already. We've already met him at…" At this she trails off and puts a hoof to her mouth to stop her from talking. She gives me a wink before saying "Umm, never mind. This party can count as both a victory and his welcome party." She chuckled nervously and we all stare at her. How does she know me? And didn't Fluttershy say my eyes looked familiar at first? What was going on?

Twilight looked up "What will we call you until you get your memory back?"

I thought carefully, there was something on the edge of tongue when she mentioned names. It was something like….

Shadow? Um…what about

"Call me Shade, I think it's close to whatever name I used to have." At this she looked at me curiously before walking away.

"Come on, my house is this way. I'll get you set up in the spare bed. As we left I waved backwards to Fluttershy and Pinkie who were slowly swallowed up by the party.


End file.
